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S.H.I.E.L.D. (video game)
S.H.I.E.L.D. is a military science fiction third-person shooter action-adventure video game based on the Marvel Comics of the same name, developed by Nice Cat and Naughty Dog and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment for PlayStation 4. It was released worldwide on June 23, 2017. Development on S.H.I.E.L.D. began in 2013 after the release of The Last of Us and The Death of Life. Several employees from former video game developer Junction Point Studios joined Nice Cat after Junction Point's closure in January 2013. Actors Nicolas Cage, Mila Kunis, Jeremy Renner, Tom Kenny, John DiMaggio, Johnny Depp, Taylor Cole, and Nolan North portrayed respectively through voice and motion capture. The story was written by science fiction author Karen Traviss. The original score was composed and performed by Gustavo Santaolalla. Following its announcement in October 2015, S.H.I.E.L.D. was widely anticipated. Upon release, it received universal acclaim, with praise directed at its narrative, gameplay, visual and sound design, characterization, depiction of female characters, and Depp and Cage's performances. S.H.I.E.L.D. became one of the best-selling games on the PlayStation 4, selling over 1.3 million copies in its first week and over eight million copies within four months. Gameplay S.H.I.E.L.D. is a third-person shooter that places emphasis on using cover to avoid taking damage while moving towards enemy forces. The game uses a number of weapon archetypes, similar to that of Gears of War. Playable characters can carry two primary weapons, grenades, and a smaller, secondary weapon. However, instead of the "Crimson Omen", a red cog representing the player's health gauge, the game features a system similar to the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halo_(series) Halo series] of video games. The player character has both a regenerating shield and health, the latter of which can be replenished by a health pack. The player can seek cover to recover their shield, but if they take too much damage, they will become incapacitated. The player can then be revived by a teammate, executed by an enemy, or remain incapacitated until they "bleed out", dying from blood loss. Competitive multiplayer games do not allow players to control official, named characters, and instead must design their own character. Similar to the campaign, generic multiplayer characters are split into four character classes. Contrary to the campaign, however, each created character features some amount of customization. S.H.I.E.L.D. has several multiplayer modes to choose from. In Team Deathmatch players are divided into the GROtW and the Fungi. The winning team is the one who earns the most kills. In Attack mode, players must take an active bomb and place it at an enemy base, similar to the Assault mode in the Halo series. The game also features Gears of War: Judgment s multiplayer modes, OverRun and Free-for-All. Synopsis Setting and characters Plot Development Following the release of The Last of Us and The Death of Life in 2013, developer Nice Cat began exploring new IP options. Nice Cat president appointed Warren Spector as creative director and hired film director J.J. Abrams as game director. It was Abrams' first time working on a video game. Story writing For the writing of the story, the team hired and appointed science fiction author Karen Traviss as lead writer. Traviss previously served as leas writer for the Epic Games title Gears of War 3. Voice casting Like with The Death of Life, Nice Cat employed two Hollywood actors for the lead roles. Actor Nicolas Cage was chosen to play as . Cage was hesitant at first as he wasn't into the gaming industry, but he was impressed by the script and later accepted the offer. Originally, Tarek wasn't suppose to have any diologue, but Spector felt Tarek would be more of a leader if he spoke. Johnny Depp was the first chose to portray . Depp, like Cage, has no interest in gaming, but he later jump at the chance to voice when he read the script. For the casting of , actress Taylor Cole was approached for the part. Cole was impressed by Traviss' ability to write a story for a video game. Veteran voice actor Nolan North, who portrays protagonist Nathan Drake in Naughty Dog's [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uncharted Uncharted series], was chosen to play the role of Kesey in the game. When approached by Spector about the role, North immediately accepted the part, appreciating its diversity from his previous acting roles. Music and sound production S.H.I.E.L.D. s soundtrack was composed by Argentinian musician Gustavo Santaolalla, who is best known for his work for the films Brokeback Mountain, and Babel, the video game The Last of Us, and the Netflix series Making a Murderer. Announcement In October 2015, prior to the announcement of the game, an Easter egg was found in Mission: Impossible - IMF 4 referencing the concept of S.H.I.E.L.D. on an in-game newspaper; Nice Cat retroactively stated that the reference was supposed to be seen after the game's intended reveal at E3 in June 2015, but when the timing of the reveal itself was pushed to October, the team forgot to remove the reference. Release S.H.I.E.L.D. was released as scheduled on June 23, 2017. Release trailers The game was extensively marketed through video trailers. The game's first trailer was released alongside the game's full announcement, showcasing the game's concept, characters and setting. For this trailer, the team held extended discussions concerning features of the gameplay to include. For the final design of the trailer, the team attempted to incorporate as many gameplay features as possible, including human antagonism, melee implementation, stealth, and character relationships. Reception Critical reception | IGN = 9.6/10 }} S.H.I.E.L.D. received critical acclaim, garnering an aggregate score of 97/100 on Metacritic. It is the fifth-highest rated PlayStation 4 game on Metacritic. Reviewers praised the character development, story and subtext, visual and sound design, depiction of female and LGBT characters, and Johnny Depp and Nicolas Cage's performances. The game is considered one of the most significant titles of the eighth generation of video games, and has been included among the greatest video games of all time. Jeff Gerstmann of Giant Bomb gave S.H.I.E.L.D. a review of 5 out of 5 stars; stating "Lost Frontline is a fantastic PlayStation game that would wanna make you feel like you're in a different Gears of War game that's not even on Xbox with an even bigger, better multiplayer suite". Lucy O'Brien at IGN admired its weight in meaning, while welcoming the charm of the protagonist's personality. A considerable impression was made with the combat, which was stated as the game's most compelling accomplishment. Game director Yoko Taro listed S.H.I.E.L.D. as one of his favourite PlayStation 4 games. It also received praise from other video game creators, including Cliff Bleszinski and Greg Kasavin. Destructoid s Chris Carter commended Nicolas Cage and Johnny Depp for their performances, with the characters of Andrew and Tarek receiving credit for maintaining a "captivating" and "interesting" consistency in the narrative and action sequences. Andrew Reiner of Game Informer also scored the game a 9.5 out of 10, writing, "S.H.I.E.L.D. is the best non Gears of War yet, delivering a story I didn't want to end, and an adventure that concludes with a hell of a payoff." Reiner applauded the world design, story, gameplay, soundtrack and voice acting. Mike Mahardy from GameSpot scored the game a perfect 10/10, saying: "S.H.I.E.L.D. is a challenge to the medium. In its writing, in its design, in its understanding of what makes games unique, S.H.I.E.L.D. is something to aspire to. It's a shining example. And we'll be talking about it for years to come." Tom Senior of GamesRadar called Ky and Kesey "the greatest AI companions in games", in addition to the subtle use of visual and audio cues to add more character and its impact on the gameplay itself. Electronic Gaming Monthly s Nick Plessas scored the game a 9 out of 10, summarizing with: "S.H.I.E.L.D. is a true work of art, and the only time the slightest apprehension may surface is when one compares it to the titanic Uncharted installments that came before." Sales S.H.I.E.L.D. sold over 1.3 million copies within 24 hours of it's release. The game was the best-selling game during its release week in the UK. It surpassed Horizon Zero Dawn as as the biggest launch of a new intellectual property on the PlayStation 4. According to the NPD Group, the game was the best-selling retail game in the US.June 2017 NPD: Lost Frontline Tekken and Injustice roundhouse kick the sales chart. JEFF GRUBB JULY 20, 2017 3:30 PM By October 2017, the game sold over eight million copies worldwide. Accolades References Category:Sony Interactive Entertainment Category:Nice Cat games Category:Third-person shooters Category:2017 Games Category:PlayStation 4 Games Category:Sony Interactive Entertainment games Category:Marvel Comics Category:Naughty Dog games